The top 7 challenges faced by researchers who are not native English speakers are
- Significant time and effort in reading research
- Difficulty in following English rhetorical norms while writing
- Delays in manuscript preparation and publication due to writing difficulties
- Higher rates of manuscript rejection due to language issues
- Stress during presentations
- Difficulty networking at international conferences
- Lower research output due to language barriers
While constraints like funding and pressure to publish occur across academia globally, the above communication difficulties make things much more difficult for ESL researchers. Let’s explore how.
Significant time and effort reading research
The complex vocabulary and complicated writing style in academic writing makes it more difficult for non-English speaking researchers to follow. They have to invest significant time and effort in “parsing” sentences and sometimes looking up sophisticated vocabulary that they’re not familiar with. Take a look at this sentence:
Notwithstanding the ostensibly synchronous attenuation of cytopathic effects observed in vitro, the recombinant orthomyxovirus exhibited a paradoxically augmented tropism for extrapulmonary epithelial tissues, thereby complicating the interpretation of its pathogenicity profile.
How can ESL researchers read English research papers quickly and easily?
To read English research quickly and easily, non-native speakers can make use of AI tools like R Discovery, which provide instant, accurate translations of research into 50+ languages and also provide audio versions of papers. R Discovery also allows you to upload specific papers as PDFs and “ask” the tool to give you plain language summaries or answer questions about the research, like “what was the outcome of the subgroup analysis in this study?”
Difficulty in following English rhetorical norms while writing
For those who have been educated mostly in another language, writing in English can be quite difficult. German has verbs at the end of a sentence. Chinese requires you to memorize thousands of characters. Japanese and Thai don’t always have spaces between words. Written Arabic often omits vowels.
How can non-native English speakers write in fluent and native English?
AI-powered academic writing assistants like Paperpal can help ESL researchers express their thoughts in correct and native English. These tools provide real-time, line-by-line edits and suggestions for wording, and can also translate from 50+ languages into English.
Delays in manuscript preparation and publication due to writing difficulties
Having to spend so much time and effort writing a paper makes the manuscript preparation process much slower. Navigating peer review is also difficult and time-consuming, as ESL researchers have to first comprehend the reviewer comments, then act upon them, and finally frame responses to them.
How can ESL authors publish more papers and get accepted faster?
Partnering with an editing service like Editage can make manuscript preparation easier easier and faster for ESL researchers. Editage not only ensures appropriate English quality but also formats the manuscript as per journal guidelines and helps crosscheck your responses to reviewer comments. This support substantially reduces the time and effort authors spend in writing and revising their papers.
Higher rates of manuscript rejection due to language issues
Vague comments like “The manuscript would also benefit from a comprehensive proofread by a native speaker” are common in peer review as Balan (2021)[1] pointed out. Burbridge (2024)[2] observed that frequently such comments sound patronizing and don’t offer any specific reasons why the writing is problematic or what needs to be improved. Such feedback causes a great deal of stress and worry to researchers who are not native English speakers.
How can non-native English speakers avoid manuscript rejection due to language issues?
If English isn’t your first language, it’s a good idea to get your manuscript professionally edited by a reputed English editing service like Editage, which is trusted by major international publishers like Wiley, Sage, and Frontiers. Editage also provides an editing certificate guaranteeing that the language quality of your paper meets publication standards in your field.
Stress during presentations
Presenting slides or a poster at conferences is especially stressful for non-native English speakers, as they worry about their accent and lack of fluency in speaking English. While many native English speakers also suffer from stage fright, ESL researchers feel pressured to sound polished and fluent when they present to international audiences.
How can ESL researchers reduce the stress of making presentations in English?
Regular practice can greatly help you improve your pronunciation and speaking skills in English. It’s also a smart idea to get your entire poster or slide deck, including presentation notes, edited professionally, so that you can eliminate obvious grammatical errors or non-native English.
Difficulty networking at international conferences
For researchers who struggle to interact in English, international conferences can be difficult and stressful. Networking, unfortunately, is an essential part of getting your name known as a researcher and to find new opportunities in your field.
How can non-native English speakers network effectively at international academic conferences?
- Remember that most academics are interested in your research, not in your English. It’s fine if you have an accent. Sometimes, native English speakers from different parts of the world (e.g., US Midwest and Australia) also have difficulty understanding each other!
- Keep your business card handy with your contact details, especially email address and social media profiles
- Many posters include QR codes to contact the authors. Take photos of them for use later.
- Always look up speakers beforehand and decide whom you want to meet and what you want to talk about. You can rehearse how you will introduce yourself to specific people.
- Prepare a 30-second introduction and rehearse it beforehand, so that you can quickly let others know who you are and what you’re interested in.
- Before the conference, email specific researchers whom you want to meet, introducing yourself and letting them know you will be attending X conference with them.
- Use X or LinkedIn to share that you’re attending that conference, and engage with the conference hashtag.
- Make sure your badge is always visible and not covered by your jacket, scarf, etc.
Lower research output due to language barriers
Because everything from reading papers to presenting posters is twice as difficult in a foreign language, non-native English speaking researchers often end up with lower research output. While there are many journals in Spanish, French, Mandarin, etc., these journals often have much lower visibility than their English counterparts.
How can ESL researchers improve their research output despite language barriers?
If English isn’t your first language, you can still work efficiently and productively in English by
- Leveraging AI tools like R Discovery for reading or Paperpal for writing
- Utilizing researcher support services like Editage for manuscript preparation
- Collaborating with native English speakers on research projects
- Attending workshops and webinars to familiarize yourself with various aspects of scholarly publishing (Editage, for example, offers many free webinars on topics like how to select a journal, how to promote your research, or how to structure your research paper).
References
[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9032012/
[2] https://www.editage.com/insights/lost-in-translation-overcoming-manuscript-hurdles-for-esl-researchers
